Sleepless Nights
by MissWitchx
Summary: Hermione finds herself unable to sleep one night when Draco is called out to work. And only when he returns does she realise how little time they've been able to spend together lately. :: "Well, I've got some time now," he said, indicating towards the sofa and the crackling fire in the living room. "Shall we?" :: DGHM fluff


**A/N:** Happy 2016 everyone! Here is a gift of Dramione fluff from me to you. I've been wanting to do something like this for ages, (being in a non-angsty mood for once) so Happy New Year everyone! Cheers! *raises a glass of butterbeer*

 _(As usual I own nothing; anything familiar belongs to JKR / Warner Bros)_

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 **Sleepless Nights**

There was something oddly calming about the sound of rain hammering against the windows, Hermione thought as she lay back on the sofa and snuggled further beneath a fluffy blanket. Well, it was relaxing when she was _inside_ reading a book beside the fire, at least.

She turned a page, yawning as she did so, and then squinted as the words began to distort and swim in her vision. Rubbing her eyes, Hermione yawned again. She was so tired, and although she'd been lying in bed for what felt like several hours before coming down to the living room, sleep evaded her. She wanted to tell herself that she couldn't understand why, but knew she'd just be lying to herself if she did. Having kept busy that evening with completing some paperwork for the Ministry before going to bed, there had been no time for worries to invade her mind. But night time was the worst: that period between turning off the light and waiting for sleep to come was when her mind was undistracted and vulnerable, and here she was at Merlin-knows-what-time, fruitlessly trying to make her brain focus on words she was too tired to read properly.

A rumble of thunder and sudden flash of lightning outside made Hermione jump, making her realise that she'd zoned out. She blinked back to reality, stared blankly at the book for a few seconds before sighing in defeat and placing it atop the coffee table. Then she heard the lock on the front door click, and a great howl of wind as it opened. Craning her neck slightly, Hermione gazed over the top of the sofa through the door that led to the hallway. She heard the sound of shoes squelching before a figure came into view.

"Draco!" she beamed, relief and surprise washing over her. "I thought you wouldn't be back until morning."

"It _is_ morning," Draco drawled, kicking off his shoes. His smile turned cocky, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Always with the technicalities," she said. "I meant morning-morning, not… night-morning," she frowned to herself, realising how bizarre that sounded.

"I know," he laughed, walking into the room and planting a kiss on top of Hermione's head. She wrinkled her nose as rainwater dripped onto her, and she looked up at him, her eyes widening.

"Oh my gosh, you look…" she scanned his sopping hair; the rain-splattered skin of his face and hands, turned pink in the bitter cold; the way his robes seemed to be sticking to his body, "...wet."

Draco just scoffed and gave her a look that conveyed all of the possible sarcastic responses he could have used vocally all in one. Hermione blushed. "Shut up," she said.

"And you look terrible," he said, his brow furrowing. "Why are you even still awake at…" he began to look around the room for inspiration.

"Stupid o' clock?" Hermione offered, feeling her eyelids drooping. She didn't even have the energy to make some indignant squeak at his bluntness; she knew she must look like death.

There was a pause before Draco replied. "Can't sleep?" he asked softly, brushing the hair out of Hermione's face. His touch seemed to chase away all worry from her mind, and she felt her body sink further into the comfort of the cushions.

"Mm-hmm," she responded, finally giving in and allowing her eyelids to close.

"Do you want me to take you up to bed?" Draco asked as he continued to stroke Hermione's hair. "Not like that!" he snapped defensively when Hermione opened an eye and shot him a look. He thrust his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I try to be nice…"

Draco began muttering under his breath, and it took a great effort for Hermione to heave herself into a kneeling position so she could reach up and pull him down to silence him with a kiss.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Hermione teased, stroking Draco's damp cheeks with her thumbs. "Now will you stop moaning?"

Draco eyed her shrewdly. "Using my own tricks against me now, are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said, her innocent mask cracking as Draco continued to stare at her disbelievingly.

"Oh I think you do, Hermione," he said as she tried and failed to conceal a smirk. She laughed, and swayed slightly as exhaustion overcame her.

"Okay, I'm going to take these robes off before I get hypothermia," Draco said, kissing Hermione softly before disentangling himself from her arms and standing up straight. At this, Hermione jumped up off the sofa, suddenly alert.

"Oh god, you must be absolutely frozen," she said, almost as if it had only just occurred to her. "Here," she removed the blanket and offered it to him.

He chuckled. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"What?" Hermione arched a brow. "Too fluffy for someone as masculine as you?"

"Yes," he said bluntly. "I'd rather the hypothermia than look like an overgrown pygmy puff."

Hermione rolled her eyes and put the blanket down on the sofa. "Well is there anything I can do for you while you're getting changed? How about a warm drink? I can do hot chocolate or-"

"Coffee." Draco said. "Please."

Hermione nodded and hurried off to the kitchen as Draco headed upstairs. She didn't question his need for caffeine at ungodly hours of the morning; his job had long ago thrown off his sleeping pattern. These early hours could very well be the equivalent to late afternoon for all Hermione knew.

Their jobs meant it was a rare occasion that they spent any length of time together these days, and since this was at a point where Hermione was not busying herself with mountains of paperwork, it hadn't actually occurred to her until now. And only when Draco appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist did it truly sink in how fleeting and sporadic moments like this had become.

Hermione took a moment to lose herself, stopping what she was doing to rest her hands upon Draco's and to lean into his body; feel the soft, cosy material of his dark green robe…

"So _this_ , you're okay wearing, but the blanket is out of the question," she said, giving Draco's forearm a squeeze and spinning around to face him, now playing with the collar and the hair at the base of Draco's neck. "This is just as soft –"

"Ah, but is it _fluffy_?" Draco countered, smirking down at her with a weary but playful gaze.

"Well, no, but –"

"Then I rest my case," he drawled, reaching around Hermione for the steaming cup of coffee that sat on the counter.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but the smile did not fall from her face.

"I saw that," Draco said before taking a small sip and setting the mug back down.

"Oh, shut up," Hermione whispered, standing on tiptoes and gently pulling Draco's head down to press her lips against his, kissing him deeply as if to make up for the many she suddenly felt they had missed out on, but also with a gentleness that told him she was savouring every second.

Draco raised a hand to cup her cheek. Having overcome the initial shock of Hermione's spontaneous move, he began to lose himself in the kiss, and in her. His palm was hot from handling the mug but Hermione couldn't have cared less. His touch just sent shivers and tingles down her spine; made her heart beat that little bit faster in her chest.

They finally broke apart after a few more seconds, both of them panting slightly.

"What was that for?" Draco asked softly as he looked down into Hermione's warm brown eyes.

"Do I need a reason?" she teased. "But I don't know, I just feel like with our jobs and everything, we don't really see all that much of each other anymore. Not properly, anyway."

"What do you mean? I see you when I get in from work, at breakfast –"

"Not always," Hermione said quietly, finally looking away. "Of course I see you on days when your schedule isn't mental like tonight, but I don't quite quantify grabbing a piece of toast, a peck on the cheek and a "Bye, dear" as you run out of the door as seeing you."

"Hey you know I overslept this… _yesterday_ morning," Draco said, his brow furrowing slightly.

"I know, and I don't want to sound like one of _those_ girlfriends," an image of Lavender Brown flashed through Hermione's mind, "but think about it: when was the last time we had an evening when we could just do nothing? When neither of us had any work stuff to worry about and we could just, I don't know, go out to dinner or lay on the sofa by the fire trying to figure out clues to those stupid _Daily Prophet_ crossword puzzles before the other could." She paused. "I miss that."

Much to Hermione's relief, a look of understanding dawned on Draco's face. He didn't comment on the fact that there was little they could do about their jobs; he knew Hermione (being Hermione) understood this and would never have told him those things as a means to try and change anything. On the flip side, he understood _perfectly_ well how she felt, and wished there was something they could do.

"Well, I've got some time now," he said, indicating towards the sofa and the crackling fire in the living room. "Shall we?"

He didn't openly tell Hermione his thoughts; nor did he need to. His gesture was enough to tell her he felt the same way.

"I can't promise I won't fall asleep," Hermione laughed as she settled herself down on the sofa with Draco, lying on her side with her head resting on his chest. "Then you'll be trapped."

"I suppose I can deal with that," Draco said. "Unless my arm goes dead of course," he added, jiggling the arm he'd threaded beneath Hermione's body and around her waist.

Hermione laughed as she threw an arm across Draco's body, and absently began playing with the robe's belt with her hand.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Draco said. Hermione couldn't see his face but she could tell he was smirking. "I'm not wearing any underwear under here – or anything, in fact."

"You're naked?"

"That's generally the definition, Granger," he drawled sleepily.

"You're going commando on my sofa?" Hermione squeaked indignantly.

" _Your_ sofa? We bought this together, if memory serves."

"In a manner of speaking," Hermione said slowly. "I had to persuade you for hours to get this one over that uncomfortable, posh leather one _you_ wanted. My choice; my sofa."

Draco sighed. "What does it even matter? _I'm wearing a robe_. It's not like my bare arse cheeks are –"

"Okay!" Hermione yelled, sitting up and throwing her hands over her ears. "Okay, no need to go into details."

Draco, whose eyes had been closed, opened them to look at her. He laughed and pulled her back down, holding her close against him. "I love that you're still so innocent."

"Meaning?" Hermione asked, not sure whether to be offended or not.

"I'm just saying, it's not like you've never seen me naked," Draco said coolly. "And you still get embarrassed just at the mention of the word."

"So?" Hermione lifted her head up from Draco's chest a fraction, as if afraid that he'd somehow feel the burning from her cheek through the thick material of his robe.

"Nothing," Draco said with a yawn. "Just saying."

"Hmm," Hermione wasn't convinced. She had a sneaking suspicion this would be something Draco would one day decide to publically embarrass her with.

"Hey," she said after a few moments of blissful silence. "You never told me why you're back so early."

"And _you_ never told me why you're still awake," Draco countered.

"You answer first," said Hermione as she listened to the crackle of the fire and the steady beating of Draco's heart, at this point fighting to stay awake so she could enjoy this time with him for as long as possible.

"Well, as it turns out, and to cut a long story short… Potter is a much better Auror than we gave him credit for," Draco eventually said, very begrudgingly.

Hermione chuckled. "By 'we', you mean 'you', right?"

"No comment," Draco dismissed. Then his tone softened. "Your turn to answer."

"By the time you got back I'd given up trying to get to sleep," said Hermione quietly. "I was in bed tossing and turning for hours so I came downstairs."

Draco moved his hand from her waist to her hair, which was tied up in a loose ponytail. He started to run his fingertips lightly across her scalp – something he often did whenever he felt concerned or was offering comfort to her.

"Something's on your mind." He didn't phrase it as a question. "Was it the stuff you told me about just now?"

"No, I… that was something that had just crossed my mind a minute or so before I said it."

"Then what is it?" Draco asked patiently. "Work stuff? I know how easily stressed you are."

Hermione knew that, if not in a sympathetic mood, he would have substituted that phrase for 'high maintenance', but she made no comment on this.

"It's sort of work stuff, I suppose," she said. "I didn't think much of it at first – I had no chance to – but then I got into bed and with no distractions around me, _so_ many awful thoughts just kept going through my mind. Hardly any of them were logical or rational thinking back to it, but at the time…" Hermione stopped to bite down on her lip to keep from audibly crying.

Draco continued to stroke her hair. "It's okay. I get it, it's happened to all of us. Night time's when your mind is most vulnerable and susceptible to," he gulped, "bad stuff."

Hermione seemed oblivious to the brief flashback he'd just had, and the resultant unpleasant tingle that had shot all the way through him. She sniffed. "I was worried about you," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible over the crackle of the fire and the rain outside, but her words made Draco's heart simultaneously drop and flutter (the end result being a sort of painful twinge like someone had reached in and squeezed it for the briefest of moments).

"Worried about me?" he asked. "I don't understand; this isn't the first time I've been called out at night –"

"I know," Hermione said. "But knowing you'd been called out on a mission to capture _Dolohov_ …"

Draco tensed. "How did you know that?"

"My two best friends are Aurors," said Hermione. "They've been having muttered conversations about how they may have found his hiding spot for weeks."

Hermione heard Draco sigh, and begin muttering something about how unprofessional it was to discuss that kind of information outside of work. "I saw your face when you were called out," she continued, her voice turning shaky. "You turned white as a sheet… it didn't take much to put two and two together."

Draco stroked her side soothingly in an attempt to calm her. "He was no more dangerous than anyone else we've had to arrest before."

"But the last time that man saw you, you were on his side!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting up and turning to face Draco, cupping his cheek with her hand. "He'd have had more reason to hurt you tonight than anyone else. I know what that man is capable of and, knowing he might have had a grudge…" Hermione hiccupped as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "I've been so worried that something awful might happen to you."

"Hey," Draco sat up too and hugged Hermione tightly. He hated seeing her cry. It didn't happen very often but when it did, it just made him feel powerless. And he hated that. "If Potter could take on people who wanted him dead and survive you bet your arse I could too."

"Of course. How did I not think of that?" Hermione laughed half heartedly as she pulled away to look at Draco. "But seriously, you had me worried."

"I know," Draco kissed her forehead, pausing before whispering, "thank you."

"Did you just say 'thank you'?" Hermione frowned.

Draco nodded. "Don't laugh, okay, it's just… nobody besides my parents has ever given enough of a damn about me to actually be worried for me before. Obviously I hate the fact you were up worrying all night but... it's kind of nice too, in a way."

"Oh, Draco…" Hermione didn't know what to say. She just knew she wanted to hold him tight and never let go, so she did just that. It wasn't long before she felt his arms wrap around her body too.

"I love you, Hermione," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, Draco," she replied, pulling back slightly to plant a tender kiss on his lips.

"I'm sorry we don't get much time to be together like this," Draco said.

"It's not your fault," Hermione replied, rubbing her eyes. "It's just our work schedules. Nothing we can do about it."

"But –"

"But nothing," Hermione put a finger to Draco's lips. "We don't need to go to fancy restaurants or do anything extravagant. Just this time with you tonight… this was perfect. So we should just make the most of the time we _do_ have with each other… even if it _is_ at stupid o'clock in the morning."

"I couldn't agree more," Draco smiled.

Hermione gave him one last kiss before settling down beside him again, and they lay there holding each other and listening to the crackling fire until slowly, they fell asleep. Together.

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 **A/N:** Thank you so much for reading! I had a lot of fun writing a fluffy Dramione oneshot for a change; let me know if you'd like me to do more in the future :)

(Also if any of you follow The System, a new chapter will be published soon!)


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